From compliance burden to enabling advantage

In many organizations, the compliance team works in a constant state of catch-up. New data privacy laws roll out and the scramble begins: What’s impacted? Where is that data stored? Who has access? Are we covered?

This dynamic is made worse by fragmentation. Different departments manage their own data. Different tools track usage (or don’t). Policies exist on paper but aren’t consistently enforced in practice.

While respondents were asked about security, the subtext is loud and clear: pending regulations are top of mind. Nearly half of professionals cite compliance issues as one of their biggest governance challenges — not just an operational hassle but a growing risk they don’t yet feel prepared to manage.

And 88% agree that the expansion of regulations has only made those issues harder to address, not easier.

Meanwhile, as AI moves from buzzword to business-critical, the compliance stakes get even higher. 45% of professionals list ensuring compliance with growing regulations as one of their top challenges when building and deploying AI models. For organizations already struggling to keep up, AI introduces exponential complexity.

When building and deploying AI models, data reliability is the most significant challenge among data governance professionals surveyed (53%). Ensuring compliance with growing regulations is also a top challenge for 45%.

And the cost is strategic — not regulatory.

When compliance feels reactive, teams move cautiously. Innovation slows. Risk tolerance shrinks. Leaders hesitate to pursue bold data use cases because they don’t have the confidence that they’re protected.

But this is where the story can pivot.

The moment it clicks

Every transformation has a turning point. For some organizations, it’s a failed audit. For others, it’s the realization that competitors are moving faster — and with more precision — because their data house is in order.

But often, the shift begins with a simple question:

What if compliance wasn’t something we had to survive but something we could use?

That’s when the lens changes. Instead of viewing governance as a check-the-box activity, forward-thinking organizations begin to see it as a strategic framework that builds trust, reduces friction and clears the way for smarter decisions.

Compliance isn’t a cost. It’s a signal. A chance to get sharper, faster and more resilient than the competition.

Data Citizens Dialogues Podcast